If you have concerns over music licensing or
don’t have any interesting video to use as a pre-roll, get some nice stills or a good establishing
shot of the venue. Broadcasting an empty stage
does not make for compelling viewing (Figure 2).

After the Stream

Some of your audience may check out early
from the broadcast, especially one that’s 90 minutes long. Waiting until the end of the stream
to bring up important information may be too
late. Because of this, consider preparing graphics that can start to sneak onto the screen while
your last presenter is still speaking. If there are
websites or contact information to call attention
to, bring them up as a lower-third.

With a longer presentation, some viewersmay come online late in the broadcast. If thiscould be the case, consider havingsummary graphics prepared inadvance, or make some on-the-flyduring the broadcast. Then, for afew minutes after your broadcastends, you can loop a slideshow ofkey takeaways, contact informa-tion, social media accounts to fol-low, or other links.

More Time, More Gear?

If this sounds like a lot of extra
work, that’s because it is. But providing some additional polish and
effectiveness to your live streams
will increase your value to your
client, whether it’s your boss or a
paying customer. Asking questions
ahead of time and getting information to ensure that you’re prepared
will make you stand out from the
competition.

On the bright side, the equipment you’re using for live streams
probably already has the capabilities you need to add in these elements. Switchers designed for streaming, like
those from New Tek, vMix, Roland, and Telestream, have built-in GFX modules that allow
you to create and cue up titles on-the-fly. Plus
you can store pre-made video or audio tracks
for on-demand use. So even if you have to invest
more time into each shoot, at least you shouldn’t
have to invest more cash in gear.

Paul Schmutzler ( paul@theschmutzler.com) has been involved in
various aspects of photography, film, and video production,
post-production, and motion graphics for more than 10 years.

He reviews tools of the trade as a freelance tech journalist.

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